Infinitely Losing My Edge
Yeah, I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge.
The kids are coming up from behind.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge to the kids from Guyana and from Tokyo.
But I was there.
I was there in 1970.
I was there at the first Onyeabor show in Enugu.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge to the kids whose footsteps I hear when they get on the decks.
I'm losing my edge to the internet seekers who can tell me every member of every good group from 1963 to 1979.
I'm losing my edge.
To all the kids in Accra and Accra.
I'm losing my edge to the art-school Jakarta kids in little jackets and borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered nineties.
I'm losing my edge.
I'm losing my edge.
I can hear the footsteps every night on the decks.
But I was there.
I was there in 1978 at the first Visage practice in a loft in London.
I was working on the sitar sounds with much patience.
I was there when David Bowie started up his first band.
I told him, "Don't do it that way. You'll never make a dime."
I was there.
I was the first guy playing Stetsasonic to the rap kids.
I played it at CBGB's.
Everybody thought I was crazy.
We all know.
I was there.
I was there.
I've never been wrong.
But I'm losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent.
And they're actually really, really nice.
I'm losing my edge.
I heard you have a compilation of every good song ever done by anybody.
Every great song by The Shadows of Knight. All the underground hits.
All Lalo Schifrin tracks. I heard you have a vinyl of every Royal Trux record on German import.
I heard that you have a white label of every seminal grime hit - 1985, '86, '87.
I heard that you have a CD compilation of every good '50s cut and another box set from the '70s.
I hear you're buying an oboe and a clarinet and are throwing your macbook out the window because you want to make something real. You want to make a Clear Light record.
I hear that you and your band have sold your marimba and bought a theremin.
I hear that you and your band have sold your theremin and bought a marimba.
I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know.
But have you seen my records?
Joyce Sims,
The Sisters of Mercy,
Deakin,
In Retrospect,
Ponytail,
Heaven 17,
Bluetip,
Beasts of Bourbon,
Amon Düül,
Can,
Graham Central Station,
Ronnie Foster,
Magazine,
Quando Quango,
Vladislav Delay,
Soulsonic Force,
X-102,
World's Most,
The Golliwogs,
Rosa Yemen,
The Seeds,
the Germs,
Ralphi Rosario,
Porter Ricks,
Circle Jerks,
Desert Stars,
Max Romeo,
the Human League,
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282,
Gong,
The Monochrome Set,
The Dave Clark Five,
Roy Ayers,
Altered Images,
Be Bop Deluxe,
Siglo XX,
Soul II Soul,
Essential Logic,
Lucky Dragons,
Wings,
Toni Rubio,
the Slits,
Josef K,
Clear Light,
Lyres,
Little Man,
Kevin Saunderson,
Peter & Gordon,
ABBA,
Brothers Johnson,
R.M.O.,
The J.B.'s,
N.O.R.E. Featuring Pharrell,
Lou Reed,
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry,
T. Rex,
Harpers Bizarre,
Cabaret Voltaire,
Ice-T,
Rekid,
Prince Buster, Prince Buster, Prince Buster, Prince Buster.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.
You don't know what you really want.